Entries from November 2009

Gary Severson was the first person to show me how bodywork can be used to release tension.
Last week I read a post at Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch that really struck home, Routine Tasks with no Inherent Meaning Diminish the Spirit of the Horse.
There’s a lot in the post that I agree with. But it was this paragraph that really resonated with me. It refers to how we can motivate our horses by touching them more:
Another way is to increase the amount of physical contact we have with our horses. Not the kind with the whip or with the leg. The kind where you both are on the ground and your hands are on the horse. Touch is a miracle communicator because horses are sensory creatures. Like us, touch in equine life is an important part of the establishment of social hierarchies and family interaction. The reward of human touch is powerful for such tactile animals. You’ve seen a horse with a metaphorical sign reading, “will work for food,” but most of them also will work for touch.
Read more.
Categories: Horse care · equine massage · grooming · horse health
Tagged: equine massage, grooming, horse health, touch
While most of us are still struggling with keeping the lines straight, there are some real body clipping artists out there. Not to mention people who are really handy with a stiff brush, a comb and some water!
I’ve found a few more examples to inspire. The good news is, if you make a mistake you can just shave it all off or, in the case of the quartermarks, brush them out and start again.
Read more.
Categories: Commentary · Equine photography · grooming
Tagged: body clipping, equine body art, grooming, quarter marks

Scribbles, who is 51, shares a carrot with Charlotte, 3, and Maddie, 6. Photo: BBC.co.uk
Scribbles is going for the World record. His owners believe him to be 51 years old, and that potentially makes him the oldest living pony in England and maybe even in the world
Until 2002 Scribbles had worked at Strawberry Gardens Riding School in Camborne for 24 years after owner Jill Power paid £125 for him in 1978, as an already “long in the tooth” 20 year old.
Read more.
Categories: Commentary · Horse breeds · Horse care
Tagged: oldest horse in England, Scribbles, shetland pony
A kiss on the head.
November 29, 2009 · 3 Comments
Photo by pamela leigh richards, 12/08
I had a mare once who loved all baby creatures. She would lean down and snuffle my daughter’s head just like this.
One day I found her in the paddock with a gosling. She followed it around gently brushing it with her muzzle and breathing into his feathers. It looked like she was trying to soothe it (although I’m not sure the gosling got the message).
More cute photos and videos like this at Fly With Me Productions. Check it out!
Categories: Commentary · Equine photography
Tagged: Equine photography